About Our Blog

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Here we plan on recording thoughts, projects, farm additions and other note-worthy happenings.

If you would like to comment on our blog or just say "Hi" feel free to do so on our SHOUT-BOX to the left.  Just enter your name and a message, then click the 'submit' button.

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The Blog 

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November 30, 2007 - Getting ready for more livestock.

We have been contacted by someone Carol works with about purchasing her small goat herd.  The price seemed VERY affordable but we thought the timing of such an offer was bad.  We have been thinking about owning a few goats for milk production, since Carol seems to have the cheese-making thing down, but again, the timing is wrong.  The biggest problem being... we do not live on the farm. 

Back to the offer... we mentioned to the owner of the herd, that we'd love to buy them... then explained our dilemma.  We told them it might be different if we could justify the expense of feeding them all winter.  In an attempt to ease our minds, she did her best to explain what she knew of the raising, buying and selling of goats in this area.

When looking at this, from a business standpoint, we wonder how does this fits into our 5 year plan.  As it turns out, it fits quite well.  With the diverse ethic population that thrives in the Willmar, MN area, there is a huge market for goat meat.  If fact, the owners of the goats gave us a several leads of where to sell them, who to contact and what to expect.  Perfect.  It turns out, Carol knows one of the individuals who is considered somewhat of an authority in the marketing of these strange, cute little animals.

So, tomorrow, we are going to battle the upcoming snowstorm to see what we have become so interested in.  The herd consists of seven Nanny goats, one Billy goat and a wethered male. These goats consist of Alpines and Nubians.  Although the breeds are considered dairy animals, they are regarded as 'Good Eats' in this area, when exploited for their meat. 

We have a unique opportunity to produce livestock raised on pasture, without chemicals and hormones to be sold and consumed in our local area.  This is exactly what we want from this family farm.

Rich

November 27, 2007 - Is It Here Yet?

Winter I mean... OK, today was cold.  Upon waking,  the dude on the radio was yammering something about it being -3F this morning.  Remember on Seinfeld... the episode about shrinkage? Well, George ain't got noth'in on us Minnesota guys today.

Since I was working on a rental for the last couple of days (and today) Carol & Madison checked on the llamas and they are doing fine. Once at the 4H meeting, Madison was one of several new members to be welcomed to the club.  For those who don't know, I (Rich) and my sister Regina once belonged to that very same club... as well as our father before us.  So, all-in-all, it's kinda neat that Madison is 3rd generation member to that very same club.

Carol mentioned that there were several project talks, one in particular was disturbing.  One boy mentioned that they raised Holstein steers.  At one point, he proudly stated the he had steers gain 90 lbs in two weeks.  SAY WHAT???? .  He went on to say that the calves get injected with growth hormones 2X.  OK, that explains the freakishly high weight gain.  Not once was there mention of pasture... sad really!  If you need to do it to make a buck, fine... do it short-term... but don't eat the sh*t!

Rich

November 22, 2007 - Happy Thanksgiving

Carol got up early, but not too early, to start one of her favorite meals to prepare... the Thanksgiving meal.  She's relaxed as usual and wondering why it seems so easy when others freak out.  It's 10 AM CST and already the kitchen is filled with warm, comfortable smells of pies and seasonings.

Rich

November 21, 2007 - A good day today!

The day before Thanksgiving and we're both reading our latest issues of Mother Earth News.  When I say both of us... I mean just that.  Mother sent us two copies.  I contacted their circulation department office and said we shouldn't experience this "problem" again.  What problem?  I finally get my own issue.

Happy T-day Eve.

Rich

November 20, 2007 - Welcome back Earthlings!

It appears as though the transfer of our website from one server to the other is complete... we have our emails working again.  You can reach us at either info@coyoteridgefarms.com or info@coyoteridgefarms.com.

With that good news, we did some more work on the website today.  We added some new [old] photos and Carol wrote a brief description for each collection of pics.

Carol did get some baking in, after coming back from Thanksgiving grocery shopping in Willmar and then going to the farm.  She baked three really great smelling loaves of sour-dough bread... you know the kind - golden-brown and circular in shape, with a big "X" splitting the top of each... just like the ones you see in the movies.  Dare I say, at 9 PM there were only 2 loaves left.

Rich

November 19, 2007 - Two chickens and some old pallets

Just when we thought all the processing of the poultry was done for the year, our friends Mike & Karen hand-over two more birds.  It seems roosters are unwanted in the barnyard... a clean dairy barn and chickens don't seem to mix on the Lindquist farm... so something's gotta go.  Mike pointed to the roosters.

Unrelated to poultry... before he passed away, Dad wanted to build projects out of all the pallets and wood he had collected over the years.  I will [officially] declare that we are beginning the first project, using Dad's scrap wood.  We decided to go green.  Carol and I started on a makeshift greenhouse... trying to get a jumpstart on our spring projects. 

The placement of this recycled wood, greenhouse project will go on the south side of the old garage.  The dimensions will be 11' X 16' and will extend off of the garage.  At this time, our plans are to construct it with 2" X 4" framing and 6 mil. poly.  According to what we have read, we should be able to plant & grow produce inside this type of structure 4-6 weeks ahead of the norm.  For you tomato growers, this means we should have plants baring ripe fruit during the first week in June.

We are also looking at away to collect the roof water to use for the plants inside... and the fertilizer will consist mainly of llama beans (that's what we call the pooh from our llamas - Dolly & Gandhi).

Rich

PS.  It was my Dad's birthday today.  Kinda sad.

November 18, 2007 - Good Eats

The weather was less than desirable, so Carol and I thought we'd work on the website.  Make sure you check Carol's recipes page.   She will be adding recipes as she makes the meals she considers worthwhile to list.  Tonight we're having lemon chicken w/rice.

Rich

November 17, 2007 - Happy birthday Mike

We want to wish Mike a big happy B-Day... you old fart.  And thanks for letting us bring those the chickens out to you.  I wish I would have brought some wine... the Apple Wine is quite good.

About a month ago, we butchered chickens and processed some of Mike & Karen's birds at the same time.  They were older birds so after attempting to pluck them, we soon realized that skinning them was what needed to be done.  If you've ever worked with older poultry, you will agree that skinning is a real time saver.  These birds are soup birds, so the skin isn't that desirable anyway.

Some of you want to know about Dolly & Gandhi. 

They are doing great and seem to be right at home.  Madison got within a few feet of Dolly, until the two llamas high-tailed it out of the barn to run about in what could best be described as a game of tag. 

Once we got into the house, Carol treated us all to the most wonderful Real Burgers.

Rich

November 16, 2007 - Having a movement

This is not what it sounds like.  I'm speaking of the organic foods movement, the sustainable farming movement and the locally grown food movement.

With the contaminated bagged vegetables and the beef and chicken that is being recalled by the millions of tons, due to e-coli contamination, it seems people, especially the Gen-X'ers are learning that even they have a choice of how they are living... they are now taking a more proactive approach to what goes into their bodies.  And the 30 something's are raising kids that have multiple food intolerances (allergies) and are now starting to look at the foods as the source of many of these problems.

Carol and I attended the all day Raising & Marketing Locally Grown Conference today, sponsored by the Renville County HRA/Economic Development Agency and the Regional Sustainable Development Partnership.

It seems buying more natural, locally grown foods is not only a healthy choice but the movement is quickly becoming one of status for some.  Regardless of the motivation for doing so, most are finding that this healthy affordable choice, is having a direct impact on how we feel when we eat this food. 

Studies are finding that individuals who eat these types of foods are less prone to common ailments, depression and cancers.  At this time, it seems to matter little whether the food is organic or not.  What is important is that garden produce be insecticide-free and the meat, cheese and poultry hormone-free.

Carol and I are quickly realizing that what we are trying to accomplish at the farm will effect many more people than just our family.

Rich

November 15, 2007 - Anchors away

Yes, yes, yes.  I'm finally done with putting the anchors in the ground.  This was not fun.  The air was chilly and the wind blew right though me, seemingly, every second I was out there.

Long-story-short... all the trellis anchors are installed... next step is stringing the hi-tensile trellis wire.  I tried rolling out some wire, but after fighting with it, I soon realized I need to build some sort of spool for the 100lb roll to be set on.  Maybe I can figure some sort of an application for the 4-wheeler... I already see the potential.

On a technical note, we seem to be having problems with our Coyote Ridge email.  If you need to contact us, please use our rradtke@mvtvwireless.com email.   

Rich

November 14, 2007 - Minnesota weather and today's work ethic

Today's weather is a wee-bit on the crappy side - light snow, dropping temps (30's) and winds, gusting to 40mph+ .  I decided to catch-up on some wine duties.

I racked a gallon of hard cider and 5 gals. of apple wine.  After racking, I tasted the cider.  I was told, by others, that the taste of hard cider is often less that desirable... at this point, I will have to agree.  It tastes like weak apple wine.  I'll let it clear again, bottle it, then taste it at Xmas. 

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I just checked my wine software program (Amphora Wine Log).  It seems I need to bottle my Watermelon-Peach wine and rack the Beetroot and Jalapeno wines.  You read it correctly, I said Jalapeno.  It's a novelty wine of sorts as well as a great marinade/cooking wine.  As most small groups cannot drink a bottle of the stuff, it is usually bottled in sampler bottles, for tasting.

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I got the racking done and I'm now caught-up.  While doing so, Austin & I tasted the Jalapeno wine... HOLY COW!!!  That's some hot, spicy wine.  I think I like it, but don't believe I could drink more than a sip.  I can't imagine that it will make anything other than a great marinade, just the same.  Already, I want to make more.

Rich

November 13, 2007 - Is the end in site?

It is just me, or is this trellis building starting to suck?  Wait, it is just me... since I'm there alone.

I should say this, when the weather is nice, it isn't so bad.  Today, I installed 23 ground anchors for the vineyard's 6" X 10' end posts.  These things are 40" long and need to be screwed into the ground by hand (at least that's how I'm doing it).

I grip my pipe wrench onto it and with some body weight baring-down, I rotate this thing into the ground until only the the loop of the anchor in visible.

The purpose of the anchor is to help keep the end post from being pulled out of the ground once the vines start weighing down the wire strung between the two posts.  Let's hope it works for years and years.

Rich

November 12, 2007 - OK, that's done

Well, I'm not done working on the trellis, but one step is done.  All the end-posts are set... next step is to screw the end-post anchors into the ground, then string the hi-tension wire between the posts... and then... secure the end-posts to the anchors.  But, I still won't be done.

I also measured some ground we plan on using for pasture.  When I was in high school (maybe before that) Dad and I made an acreage wheel.  It's a simple device made mostly of re-bar.  It's 10' round wheel with a handle attached to it.  Every revolution equals 10'... simply push it in front of you and count how many times it goes around.  I should have taken a picture of it, sorry.

Rich

November 11, 2007 - Another nice day

Since the Vikes were on tract to lose yet another game, I decided to head to the farm to work on the vineyard trellis again.  At 60F degrees, it was easy to head outdoors.  Anyway, I got all the south end-posts in place and packed into place... it only took 4½ hours and two beers.

Before I headed home, I decided to knock down some weeds around the silo, clean-up debris and put a layer of organic matter on the yard, where we dug-in the water line.  We had grass coming-in before the area was disturbed.  Hopefully, the area will be in shape for seeding come spring-time.

Rich

November 10, 2007 - A Sad Day On The Farm

Fred (Frederica) & Wilma... as well as Penny the chicken, were butchered today.  I believe, Fred & Wilma were the first turkeys our family has ever killed.  Growing up on the farm, Dad would often come home from bowling, with a live Jennie-O turkey in the trunk of his car.  Always was his intention to kill the bird for Thanksgiving.

They say, "once you name an animal, it becomes a pet."  I believe that was Dad's problem.  Unfortunately for our birds, our holiday turkey will have a name as it sits on the platter, in the center of our table... dripping of sage butter and seasonings.

Madison spend the whole afternoon working as a Llama Whisperer.  With Dad's help she finally was able to harness Dolly and lead her around.  Dolly wasn't exactly excited but Madison sure was.
Carol

 

 

 

November 09, 2007 - Online

Our new website went online.

November 07, 2007 - Field Access

After tons of phone calls and meetings with local officials, we finally have access to the field, north of the creek.  It's true what they say, "You need to talk with government offices seven times before you find the person you need to can get the job done."

You see, we noticed a real problem this fall, when we tried to get to our 12 acre field of corn.  It appears that the new highway work contributed to our wetland/grass field to become so wet we can no longer drive across it.  We had a similar problem this spring, but thought it might be a seasonal thing, with spring being more moist that fall, we didn't pursue it.  Alas, the problem is not of a seasonal nature.

I first met with the Soil & Water Conservation guy to see if he had a solution.  He told me to talk with the County Public Works Dept..  I was told they did nothing to contribute to the problem I was experiencing in the field.  While I was in that office, looking at their maps, I noticed they had moved the field approach 20-30 yards north from it's original location, when they redid the highway. I think it is clear as crystal they had done something.  It seems the build a field approach so it leads direct into a federally recognized wetland.

So... I asked what they were going to do about it?  They said "nothing."  I simply replied that that was not a solution to the problem.  They then suggested I call The County Commissioner.  I did.

The Commissioner mentioned he wish he had known about the problem last year so he could have billed the State for work that now needed to be done.  None-the-less, he assure me he would look into it.  He did.  With a phone call, he informed me there was no $$$ in the budget for the county to put in a road for me.  I then mentioned that I could supply the fill needed to build a short road from the approach to the higher, dryer ground.  He proceeded to advise me to call the Public Works office again and this time ask for the guy who oversees the dept.  I did that.

A short time later, I met with him at the site of our access problem. He told me if I supplied the fill material, he thinks the county can supply the equipment to rectify the problem.  He mentioned that he would send the Public Works engineer out to survey the site.

Yesterday, while working in the vineyard, a gentleman identifying himself as the County Engineer said he would have an access road in after Rick, the Soil & Water Conservation guy, came out to flag the wetland.

Long story short, today the road is in.  It's about 12-15 ft wide and 70 ft long.  I think we have the problem solved.  view pics...>

November 02, 2007 - Llamas

We went out and picked up our 2 llamas this evening. Dolly Llama and Gandhi arrived safe and sound at the farm but not before giving us a hard time.  Dolly was not very happy to get on the trailer to come to her new home.

Carol

August 05, 2007 - It's Been Awhile

Wow! I can't believe Rich hasn't blogged for such a along time.  Although, he has been awful busy with the farm trying to keep our grape vines alive amidst the drought we are having.  Well, maybe I should have said "had." As I type this, it has been raining here since Friday night.  I'm not sure its enough to save the field corn but it is very welcome here for my gardens.

Rich left for Sturgis last night.  This is the first year he's attended without me.  I stayed home to help our youngest with the county fair.  She is so very excited as she is showing her rabbits in 4H for the first time.

Here's our farm update:  We have a hired man living on the place who is helping clean/clear up the place.  He has also been tending to my chickens.  My flock (is the the right word for a bunch of chickens?) is growing.  Between our turkey, a broody hen and an incubator we have managed to hatch out 17 chicks.

And yes I said turkey, our domestic white turkey decided she wanted to be a mom and sat on chicken eggs for us.  She was an ok setter and managed not to crush all the eggs under her.  We removed the eggs 3 days before they were due to hatch.  It worked well until our broody hen hatched her chicks and the turkey decided she needed to help raise the little ones.  So Lulu (hen) has a nanny, Wilma (turkey), to help her with 5 chicks. It's strange to watch this little family.  Lulu will only allow Wilma near the chicks, all other chickens/turkey are chased away.  If Lulu leaves, Wilma takes over.  It's so funny!

I have managed to start my canning for this season.  Several quarts of pickles and pints of relish are now sitting proudly in my pantry.  The tomato plants are loaded with fruit, but are all green yet.  I can't wait to start canning them. Yum Yum!

I have been picking green beans and peas.  The peas are pretty much burnt from the sun.  I'm thinking I need to plant the garden differently next year, so the peas don't get hit with so much sun.

In the farm garden, I am amazed that it has survived.  It has been so dry and we haven't been able to water regularly, yet, the corn, potatoes, watermelon, squash and pumpkins grow.

Ok, I better get moving, the pond fish, baby chicks and rabbits need to be fed.

Carol

April 21, 2007 - Vineyard is taking shape

The last few days have been incredibly hectic at the farm.  We have been putting in some massive amounts of "hurry-up" work.

We have been starting fires nearly everyday, getting rid of scrub brush, rotten logs and the like.  The farm-site is starting to look as though there is somebody who, again, cares for her.  Both sides of the barn are now passable.

The three acre vineyard now looks as though it may be something more than pretty red flags.  We contracted some heavy equipment to help put in posts on Sat., so we busted ass to get the field in order.  All day Friday, we laid out one post near every flag on the plot of ground.  It took hours... pick through the posts, load the posts onto the the trailer, then drive the pick-up and trailer down the rows.  One post here... one post there.  When the trailer empties, do it all over again... hour after hour.

Today is Saturday.  The excavator and operator were at the farm by 10 a.m. and I'm so sore I could crap band-aids.  The long and the short of it is this:  we set 464 8' posts into the ground in 4 hours.  That's nearly 1.5 posts/min.,  non-stop until I had no more to set in place. 

After approx. 3 months of not having a beer in the house, Carol bought some... and it was good.

The next step for the vineyard... dig over 1100 holes for the vines to go into.  God, please help me!

Rich

April 12, 2007 - All work and no play

We headed out to the farm again this morning to water and feed the poultry.  All the 'kids' looked good and were quite talkative when we opened the main door to the barn.  We were a little worried about there being frozen water, but the pans and waterers were open.  

It was so pleasant on the farm today, the snow crunching under foot echoed across the yard.  As we surveyed the barn yard, we thought this would be a great time to do a little brush burning.  After piling branches that were cut last summer, Rich added what looked to be the right amount of paper to ignite the kindling.  The wood must have absorbed more moisture from last week's rain and snow than we thought.  The small twigs would only burn as long as the paper was lit.  When the paper was gone, so was the hopes of a roaring fire.  We needed to come up with some sort of plan 'B'.

If we can't work outside, let's try doing something inside the barn, as it hasn't been touched in 10-15 years.  Hay bales, trash, rabbit droppings and composted manure littered the old 30 stall dairy barn.  I brought up the idea of cleaning a stall or 2 to make way for our rabbits.  Rich figured a skid loader (should we ever get one to use) could clean up the stalls and the alley, but we would need to clean by hand the feed alley.  So, Rich dug right in while I picked through the manure "rocks", removing bones, wood and metal.  We plan on using the composted manure in the garden and vineyard, so I don't want anything "extra" in it.  It took Rich about 20 minutes to clean one feed alley.  Laughing, he said, "we better be careful or we'll have another one done before we have to head home."  In another 20-30 minutes, another was clean... then another... and still time on the clock for us! 

We spent the rest of the time cleaning up the baled and loose hay and managed to also get a clean walkway. No more walking on compost boulders (well for part of the way, anyhow).  Believe me, walking on 10-15 year old cow manure isn't pleasant at all.

Back at home, I started thinking about raising ducks, again (out comes the McMurray Hatchery Catalog). We now have a place for them in the barn.  Raising my own food is a goal of mine.  I want to know what goes into what I'm serving my family.

Speaking of food, I need to get supper started.

Carol

April 10, 2007 - Good Chickens... Bad Turkey

We ran out to the farm again to do some more work.  Once we got out there we realized that it was way too windy to burn brush and a few of the remaining old pallets Dad had acquired throughout his years.

Instead, we picked-up more trash before the grass comes in and finished the little work we had left for the chickens.  With us, we brought the nest box I had made for the hens.  Days before, we found a steel table frame, which fit the nests perfectly... allowing us to keep the two plastic pail nests, already on the floor.

After feeding the birds, we noticed the tom turkey going after the spring pullets.  OK... this is the behavior of a bad bird.  Let's get that jive turkey outta there.  So we shut one of the smaller barn doors, boarded another and put chicken fencing across the third.  In about twenty minutes, we showed him who was boss.  On second thought, instead of being penned with 25 chickens in a coop, he now gets the run of the whole barn.  It was probably his plan all along... and we thought turkeys were dumb.

Hopefully, the poultry will serve their purpose two fold.  One being security.  When would-be vandals come to "case da joint", perhaps they'll see the light on and hear the clucks of our watch chickens and wonder when someone will be showing up to care for them, making their exit, haste-quick.

The second purpose - we'll be forced to go out to the farm everyday to care for the birds.  While there, we'll do the work we should have done the day before... speeding up the process of making the farm presentable, more sooner than later.

As we were leaving the farm, it started snowing.  URGH!

Rich

April 09, 2007 - More Monday

After being somewhat disappointed about not being able to get the electricity flowing to the barn, I (Rich) decided to give it another try after Carol left.

Thank goodness I brought the multi-tester with.  I was able to trace the circuits that were giving me problems.  Within an hour, I had lights where we need them... and all of them now fused.  I found [then lost] a wheat penny that was behind one of the spent fuses.

All said and done, the chickens now have light and safety.  I think tomorrow we're going to bring out the homemade nest box, then do some more work on the trailer house... gotta get the floor repair done before we lay down the new carpet.

Carol
 

April 09, 2007 - Busy Monday

Just got back from the farm.  Left Rich out there finishing up the chicken coop.  It's looking pretty good.  We'll make the move tonight or tomorrow.  I also got a call today about breeding Madison's mini lop rabbit.  So hopefully I'll get her out to them tonight and we'll have baby bunnies next month.

Easter went well.  My family all was here.  Madison also had her birthday party (a week early) as my grandma has a hard time getting out so we combined the celebrations.  It could have been warmer.  I heard on the news that this was the coldest April Easter we've had since 1950!!

Carol

April 07, 2007 - New wine looks good.

Yesterday, we started two more batches of wine - white grape-peach and the other is banana.

The banana is foaming like crazy, so I've been punching the cap several times.  Tomorrow, I need to remove the pulp; then rack into the secondary.  The grape-peach is looking good and smells even better.

Carol is making more bread.  She made 5 loaves yesterday and I'm not sure what she's making tonight.  Probably something for the Easter meal tomorrow.

Carol

April 06, 2007 - Wine Making

If you are a novice or a pro.  This is a good wine recipe book.

      
Read about this book here

April 05, 2007 - To Blog or Not to Blog
 

To say the least, we are not bloggers. 

We have a non-commercial website for our vineyard:  
www.CoyoteRidgeVineyards.com.

Feel free to check it out.

Rich

Weather

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